We all live downstream of history and upstream of the future.
Summer 2004
| In This Issue - | Features | News |
|
How the Winds Are Changing in Utah
|
Random Acts of Thinking: Artifact Collecting: Unethical. Appalling. Against the Law. Book Marks: Handcarts and Hafens "The Good Old Days" A Photo Essay
|
News & Notes
|
 |
Sometimes the wind hums and sometimes it roars past three dozen concrete pillars on a barren cindery butte in Millard County. The pillars, standing in two concentric circles, range in height from two to 14 feet, but their tops are all on the same level. What are these shafts doing up there, like a desert Stonehenge standing guard over the Pahvant Valley?
The pillars represent an idea that was ahead of its time: wind-powered electricity on a large scale. The details have grown fuzzy over the years, but all versions of the story tell of an audacious venture--which failed.
During the early 1920s, a promoter named A. H. Hood stationed two men in Millard county for two years. Their task was to measure the wind velocity on Pahvant (aka Sugar Loaf) Butte.
The data convinced Hood that a wind-powered generating plant would make money. It would be the state's first wind farm, though no one had invented that name yet. With the help of an engineer, a project supervisor, and local labor, he had the site leveled with a Fresno scraper and team, a road built, and the pillars erected. He also built a large, concrete-roofed, underground bunker to hold the generating equipment. Crews hauled all the equipment, water, sand, gravel, and other materials up the steep butte with teams and wagons.
Apparently, the idea was that funnels would sit on steel tracks running along the top of the pillars. The wind would push the funnels around the tracks, turning the generator. The generator, which never did get installed in the underground room, would turn the wind power into electricity, either to transmit or to store in batteries for times when the wind didn't blow.
The project reportedly caught the attention of the Telluride Power company, which sent representatives to the site several times. But Hood either ran out of money or into legal troubles, and he never completed the project. The pillars now stand alone in the wind, visited occasionally by ATV riders, Boy Scouts, and a few curious folks.
But in 2004 the idea and reality of wind power are gaining momentum. The wind project of the 1920s foreshadowed an era when wind turbines have begun to make an ever-increasing contribution to the world's energy needs. Utah still doesn't have a wind farm, but it may be only a matter of time before somebody else decides to harness the wind that blows across Pahvant Butte and the valley below.
How the Winds are Changing in Utah
by Christine Watson, Edwin R. Stafford, and Cathy L. Hartman
Wind power helped "conquer" the American West. Throughout the 19th century, windmills pumped ground water into arid isolated regions to quench the thirst of settlers and cattle. And the transcontinental railroad would not have been possible without windmills pumping water to replenish Union Pacific steam locomotives.
Over the years, windmills evolved to grind grain, saw wood, churn butter, and perform other farm tasks. Ultimately, windmills became precursors to electricity-generating wind turbines. However, wind power's intermittency and the problem of storage became wind's Achilles' heel, and America turned to its abundant coal and petroleum for its energy needs and wants.
Now, more than a century later, wind is making a comeback. Energy price shocks and environmental concerns have sparked new interest in wind power; today, it is the world's fastest growing energy source. Wind is clean and increasingly cost-competitive with traditional fossil fuel-fired sources. In fact, over the past 20 years, the cost of wind power has declined by 80 percent.
Commercial utility-scale projects now operate in 27 states. Several western states, including Wyoming, Texas, Oregon, Nevada, Washington, and California, are promoting wind power development to help diversify and stabilize energy prices.
Given that about 94 percent of Utah's electricity comes from coal-fired plants and that Utah's population is expected to grow by 70 percent over the next three decades, it makes strategic sense for the state to modernize and diversify its energy sources for the future. Wind power development can help meet this growing demand.
Some wind power opponents claim Utah doesn't have sufficient wind for development. Among the 50 states, North Dakota is the windiest state, and Utah ranks in the middle. Rankings, however, don 't tell the whole story. In theory, North Dakota's wind capacity could meet more than a third of America's electricity needs. A lack of transmission infrastructure, however, makes its wind largely inaccessible.
Most states have regional "pockets of wind" near transmission lines. California, for example, ranks 17th in terms of wind potential but has tapped some wind pockets to lead the nation in wind power development. In Utah, about 800 megawatts (MW) of cost-effective wind pockets exist in Beaver, Box Elder, Duchesne, Garfield, Millard, Morgan, Piute, Rich, San Juan, Tooele, Utah, and Wayne counties. Washington and Oregon rank comparably with Utah in terms of windiness; one of the largest wind farms in the nation, the Stateline Wind Project, runs along their shared border.
Will Utah ever develop its own wind resources? In the 2004 legislative session, the Utah legislature passed a sales tax exemption on equipment used to generate "alternative" energy, including wind turbines, hoping this incentive would kick-start an industry in the state.
Earlier, PacifiCorp, Utah Power's parent company, committed to develop 1,400 MW of renewable energy resources, primarily wind, throughout its service territory in the coming decade. The company issued a call for proposals for 600 MW of wind power to come from the east side of its service territory-Wyoming, Utah and Idaho-by 2010. As of this writing, at least three wind developers have proposed projects in Utah, one in Tooele, one in Beaver and another in San Juan County, but no decision has been made.
Even if a Utah wind project is not awarded a contract with Utah Power, there is a strong likelihood that Utah Power will build a five- to ten-megawatt wind generating facility in Utah to support its "Blue Sky" customers in the state. Blue Sky is a green pricing program that allows customers to buy 100-kwh "blocks" of wind power for $1.95 per month.
Some Utahns are put off by the price premium, particularly since wind power can be cost-competitive with traditional fossil fuels. But wind power is more expensive when purchased in small increments without the economies of scale of large projects. While the blocks of wind power purchased by Blue Sky subscribers do encourage wind development, to date the program has added only about 7 MW of wind power (1 MW can generate enough to power 250-350 homes).
How do we make wind a more significant part of our energy supply? Public policy. The tax incentive noted above is a good first step. The next step will be to create a broader market for renewable energy through legislation requiring utilities to generate a certain portion of their electricity from renewable energy sources. Many western states have such legislation.
Perhaps the best example comes from Texas, which is well ahead of schedule in its goal of adding 2,000 MW of renewable energy by 2009. Texas's public policy has reduced the cost of renewable energy to the point where it competes with traditional fossil-fuel-produced electricity. It is also creating much-needed economic development opportunities for rural communities.
Utah should follow the lead of other states. It should harvest its lucrative pockets of wind and capitalize on the economic and environmental opportunities of America's fastest-growing energy source. Given the state's expected growth, diversifying into price-stable, clean, renewable sources is smart. Encouraging wind development in Utah would help keep Utah's energy dollars in Utah rather than going to projects in other states.
Wind power played a role in the development of the America West. Long ignored, it is now re-emerging to help secure the West's environmental and energy future.
Christine Watson is an energy engineer at the Utah Energy Office. Edwin R. Stafford and Cathy L. Hartman are marketing professors at Utah State University.
Random Acts of Thinking:
Artifact Collecting: Unethical. Appalling. Against the Law.
By Ron Rood
During the few minutes it will take you to read this issue of Currents, historical and archaeological information right here in the state of Utah will be destroyed. This destruction occurs every day, and it is a crime perpetrated against all citizens of Utah and future generations.
In 1906 the U. S. Congress passed the Antiquities Act. The act was partly a response to the extensive collecting of artifacts from archaeological sites in the Four Corners region by antiquarians and others. Over the years, additional laws added further protection to historic and archaeological sites on public and state lands.
In a nutshell, it is illegal to collect from or disturb historic and archaeological sites on public lands, and it has been illegal since 1906.
Unfortunately, the looting of archaeological sites continues. People out hiking in the desert happen upon an arrowhead, collect it and bring it home. Is that looting? Yes. As innocent as it may seem, arrowhead collecting is looting, and it is illegal. Tourists visiting southern Utah find a scatter of Anasazi pottery and collect a handful of sherds for souvenirs. That is looting, and it is illegal.
What about private land? Although it may be legal to collect artifacts from private lands--only with the written consent of the landowner--is it ethical? Archaeological sites that happen to be on private land still hold information about the past, and they are important to protect and preserve for the future.
Here in Utah, the federal government has taken a strong stance against the looting of archaeological sites, and through the efforts of federal attorney Mr. Wayne Dance and others, serious looters have been sent to prison. But the looting continues. In 1990 I visited a 1000-year-old Anasazi site near the town of Bluff, Utah. I saw hundreds of pottery sherds, broken stone tools, and grinding stones. In 1995 I took some friends of mine from Colorado there, and the real impact of looting took hold. Nothing was left on the surface of this site. It was all gone. Piece by piece the site had been collected.
 |
Pottery sherds for sale on Ebay |
Where did the artifacts go?
Take a look at Ebay or any other of hundreds of Internet sites selling bags of pottery sherds, projectile points, and even human remains. The cultural heritage of the United States is being sold to the highest bidder. These individuals are stealing from us all--and fueling an even greater looting frenzy. When I talk to fourth grade students about the archaeology of Utah, I can't help but wonder if there will be any archaeology left for them to look at, study, or even wonder about when they are adults. What about their kids or grandchildren?
What if a handful of people went into a library and began to tear pages from books, manuscripts, oral histories, family histories, and other historic documents? That act is comparable to the collecting of pottery and arrowheads from an archaeological site or the looting of bottles from an historic townsite. We find it easy to be appalled at the image of a vandalized prehistoric rock art panel. However, the removal of artifacts-even one arrowhead or one pottery sherd-is no less appalling.
What can you do? Don't collect artifacts from sites, and don't tolerate people who do collect. Take a picture or make a sketch of the artifact. If you see someone vandalizing or looting an archaeological or historical site, however, don't intervene. Call the local authorities. And don't support looters by purchasing artifacts--even the seller tells you they were legally obtained from private lands. Chances are good the seller is lying to you. You would not tolerate a thief stealing your stereo or your car or your wallet or purse. Why tolerate the thievery of our nation's cultural heritage?
Ron Rood is the Assistant State Archaeologist
THE LAW: A Primer
Federal Laws
Antiquities Act of 1906. With this act, for the first time, the government assumed responsibility for the protection, preservation, and public availability of archaeological resources. The law established a permit system for scientific research, and it imposes fines, imprisonment, and restitution for the vandalism of historic and prehistoric sites of federal property.
The Historic Preservation Act of 1966 is the legal framework for historic preservation efforts today. The act gives grants to states for cultural resource surveys, establishes the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, and requires federal agencies to "take into account the effect" of any undertaking on significant cultural resources. This act accounts for most of the compliance-oriented archaeological work done in the United States today.
The Archaeological Resources Protection Act of 1979 (ARPA) provides additional protections for cultural resources on federal lands, or for archaeological materials taken from private land and transferred across state lines for sales. ARPA outlines both civil and criminal penalties, and there have been several high-profile convictions under ARPA in Utah in recent years.
The Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act of 1990 (NAGPRA) is a significant and controversial piece of legislation. NAGPRA establishes definitions and procedures for the repatriation of human remains and sacred objects to the appropriate Native American group.
State Laws
The state version of NAGPRA applies to state-owned collections, museums, and sites.
State law 76-6-901, 902 makes it illegal for persons to damage, collect, or dig in archaeological sites on state lands. Damaging a site on state land is a felony if the damage exceeds $500 or if it is the second offense for the individual. Archaeologists working in Utah are issued "permits" under Utah law 9-8-305, and state agencies are required consider the effects their projects may have on cultural resources.
Utah law 76-9-704 protects human remains, which means "any part of a human body in any stage of decomposition, including ancient human remains" on all lands in Utah. When human bones are discovered, the person who found the bones must notify local law enforcement. In many cases, law enforcement will then notify the Medical Examiner's office and/or the State Archaeologist if it is determined that the bones are historic or prehistoric.
Saving Historic Springville
By Bruce Bennett
How a few dedicated citizens, empowered by real information, helped preserve and revitalize a town's historic center.
 |
In the 1980s the Springville city council rezoned the city to allow multi-family housing at the town center. On a fairly consistent basis, this zoning encouraged people to come in and tear down historic houses or convert them into rental units. As a result, the city center was losing its history and its sense of neighborhood.
We bought a 1906-era home in Springville four years ago. Shortly after we moved in, Von Alleman knocked on our door and asked if we would like to help a group of neighbors working for a downzone of the historic center of town. We did-so we joined a group of citizens working for change.
Shortly thereafter, the group went to the city council. We learned that two council members very much opposed a downzone, one mildly opposed it, one was in favor, and one was hard to read.
"There's no need," we heard from the council. "This zoning has worked for 20 years; why change it?" "Those houses are in bad shape anyway, the should be torn down." "The best thing to do to all those old bungalows is bulldoze them." The council told us to take our request to the planning commission.
The planning commission also opposed the downzone. So we collected information. We passed out flyers and tried to make a logical case, showing how the neighborhood had changed and become less of a neighborhood.
The planning commission asked the community development director, who strongly opposed the downzone himself, to research other Utah cities that had downzoned historic areas. He reported that none of the seven cities he had talked to had seen any difference. This didn't make sense to us, so we called and the same people he had interviewed; and we talked to city councils and police. What we heard was very different; people told us their cities had benefited significantly from downzoning.
Most expressed the feeling that in order for a neighborhood to retain a community feeling there has to be a certain percentage of stable families and owner-owned homes. I don't know what the percentage is. But there has to be a mix with enough stability to create a sense of neighborhood. In those cities, the downzoning encouraged families to come in and fix up the old houses, and crime went down. We prepared a 15-page report that included direct quotes.
With our information, the planning commission came over the line and recommended in favor of downzoning. When we took that recommendation to the city council, the Community Development Director presented his negative report. But we encouraged the council members to call the cities for themselves. We also set up a tour of Provo that had a significant impact; many of us believe that tour changed one council member's mind.
Still, the council set up a committeee to study the proposal for six months.
During the process, the Historic Preservation Commission used a CLG grant from the Utah State Historical Society to begin surveying the historic area with the goal of nominating it as a National Historic District (the nomination was approved last January, by the way!). This helped us give more information to the city. We could tell them that more than 800 buildings were "contributory" to the importance of the district-they were buildings that the National Park Service considered significant. We also made sure that residents of the area came to the council regularly to speak about the neighborhood and to support the change.
When it came to a vote, the council voted unanimously to approve the downzone. We sat there dumbfounded-we had never expected unanimous agreement. It had taken nearly two years, but a grassroots effort had accomplished its goals.
Has the downzone made a difference? Yes. The neighborhood is stabilizing. Within a block or two of my home there are 10 houses where families have moved in and are fixing them up. People are learning that the Historic District designation gives them an opportunity to qualify for tax credits to fix up their buildings.
With the momentum going, the downtown business owners have decided to capitalize on the history theme to attract businesses and the public. Using grants from the state's Main Street Program, they have restored a couple of building facades. They have also designed a master plan to enhance the downtown.
Unfortunately, we have learned that some people who grew up here don't recognize the value of what they have, but we hope even they will begin to see how much well-cared-for historic buildings contribute to the well-being of their town.
Bruce Bennett is chair of Springville's Historic Commission.
In a Nutshell: The National Register
The National Register of Historic Places is the official federal list of properties that are significant in American history, architecture, archeology, or engineering. Places may be listed individually, as part of an Historic District, or as part of a statewide thematic category. An Historic District is an area that has a concentration of historic buildings or sites 50 years or older which represent an important aspect history or prehistory.
All types of sites and properties are on the National Register: mansions, prehistoric pit houses, lime kilns, LDS tithing offices, suspension bridges, and rock art sites, to name a few. Utah has more than 1,000 individual sites and more than 50 Historic Districts containing several thousand additional sites.
To find out more about the National Register, see the historic preservation/National Register pages at history.utah.gov.
What do you do with more than 100 historic buildings, many abandoned, in an old airfield on the border of Nevada and Utah?
You recognize that you have a priceless historical treasure. And you look for ways to make the history live. That is, if you are Jim Petersen, who visited the Wendover Air Base a few years ago, saw that the buildings were falling down, and launched a personal crusade to save them.
The U.S. Army built nearly 700 buildings at Wendover Air Base during World War II, and it became one of the main training bases for B-17 and B-24 bombing groups. Other trainings and tests have taken place here, most notably the training of the 509th composite group that dropped the atom bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. More than 150 test bombs were also assembled here-minus the atomic material, and it is very likely that subassemblies of the actual bombs dropped came from Wendover. It's a one-of-a-kind place.
 |
Wilson Martin and Jim Petersen discuss one of the squadron hangars. The huge hangar that housed maintenance on the Enola Gay and other B-29s is also still standing. |
The Tooele County Commissioners now recognize the importance of the site and have put funds into both the airport and historic preservation. Petersen, who is now the airport manager, saw that the FAA's master plan for the airport buildings would take out old squadron buildings and hangars along the "flight line" and put in new hangars. Also, a new planned taxiway would destroy the atomic bomb loading pits (the only two such pits remaining in the world). With great effort he pushed to get the master plan changed and saved the historic flight line and the pits.
But still, what do you do with the old buildings?
Wilson Martin, the State Historic Preservation Officer, says that in most cases, "You must find a way to make history profitable, or it won't be preserved."
To discuss how to do that, Martin and Ed Meyer of the Utah Division of Business and Economic Development traveled to Wendover in April to brainstorm ideas and provide information on various strategies for developing the air base. Meyer and Martin discussed tools such as restrictive covenants, preservation tax credits, jobs tax credits, investment tax credits, enterprise zones, aerospace development zone incentives, RDAs, making the airbase a national historic landmark, and more. Creative, practical, and sometimes wild ideas bounced back and forth. Practical first steps were discussed.
The meeting represented the assistance the state can provide to local governments and regions to help them enhance both preservation and development-which, after all, can work synergistically together.
It turns out that the 100+ historic buildings at Wendover Air Base have great potential, as a public historic resource, as a resource for businesses, and as an economic boon.
If you would like more information on how to make history and economic development work together, see http://history.utah.gov/httoolkit .
|
|
|
One of Wendover's 10 original bomb bunkers.
|
"The Good Old Days"
BY Susan Whetstone, photo curator
What was daily life like in generations past?
The photos below represent a life uncomplicated by modern distractions--or modern conveniences.
Much of what we now do automatically had to be done by hand and might take all day: washing clothes, caring for farm animals, preparing food, growing crops. Agricultural endeavors were often family affairs.
Food spoilage was a big problem. Without refrigeration, creative ways of preserving goods prevailed. People packed meat in salt, smoked it, dried it in the sun, or pickled it in vinegar. They used root cellars to preserve butter, eggs, and vegetables.
The general store often played an important role in community life. People could not only get supplies there but could also gather, talk, and discuss community problems.
Many Euro American settlers were hard-working and self-sufficient; they grew, made, or traded for most of their basic necessities. Today we buy what we need. We have appliances, prepared foods, cars, internet--an almost endless list of conveniences.
Some say that life is easier and simpler today. But is it really?
 |
A man chopping wood while girls gather the pieces, 1902. Heating and cooking once required something more than the flock of a switch. Elfie Huntington, photographer. |
 |
A hand-powered corn mill used by early settlers. The photo, taken in southern Utah, is part of the Juanita Brooks Photograph Collection |
 |
A woman washing clothes with an old wringer washer and tub, 1902. Elfie Huntington took the photograph. |
 |
A harvest-time photograph. Notice the entire family and more gathering the grain. It was a necessity for whole familes and communities to work together bringing in the crops; one day of bad weather or crop diseases could wipe out the family?s food supply. |
 |
Eli L. Price Grocery Store, 18 S. Main Street, Salt Lake City, Utah, 1905. Due to lack of refrigeration, meat was commonly displayed in this manner. |
 |
A barbershop in 1869. Notice some typical and idiosyncratic items: a barrel for a seat, a block of wood as a footrest, an iron bucket, razor and scissors, bottles of hair tonic and perhaps courtesy drinks for the customer, coonskin, guns, iron and skillet. The dog most likely belonged to the man upon whose coat it is lying. |
 |
A typical Utah farming scene showing Abraham Jones preparing his land for spring planting in southwest Provo. Seagulls are snatching up the earthworms uncovered by the level pulled by the team of horses, Mert and Marg. The photograph, though taken in the 1950s, could have been taken during the settlement era. Note Mr. Timpanogos in the background. |
On the Road: Hidden Museums
When he found out I work for the Utah State Historical Society, the guy at the counter of a coffee shop asked me why Utah doesn't have many historical museums. Well, the answer is: It does. You can hardly find a town in Utah that doesn't have a museum of some sort.
Case in point: Syracuse, the little town people zip through on their way to Antelope Island (and the great open-air Fielding Garr Ranch "museum"), has built and keeps improving a fine little museum.
One display here discusses the town's large Japanese American population during the 1930s-1950s. This group came in such large numbers to work on farms that they built a Buddhist temple in town. The museum's director, Cindy Gooch, says that Syracuse welcomed the Japanese. During World War II, the story goes, when Japanese Americans elsewhere were being interned, the community leaders asked the government to let Syracuse's Japanese population stay on their property. Another story says that when a Japanese man from Syracuse was arrested and taken to Salt Lake City, the town's sheriff traveled there and brought him back.
Besides displays, the museum has a cabin first built in Kaysville by William Kay. Another building displays farm implements.
While you're in town, check out Syracuse's paved segment of the old Emigrant Trail. The plan is to develop a 21-mile-long stretch of trail. For now, the trail is open from 1700 South (Antelope Drive) to 2700 South.
Syracuse Museum
1726 Heritage Lane (at Antelope Drive and about 1800 West)
Hours: Tue and Wed 2-5 p.m., Fri 1-4 p.m. Phone: (801) 825-3633
Kristen Rogers, editor
BOOK MARKS: Handcarts and Hafens
 |
Mary Ann Stucki Hafen walked 1,300 miles to Utah as a six-year-old in one of the handcart companies of 1860. 100 years later, a landmark history of the Mormon handcart experience, written by her son LeRoy Hafen and his wife Ann, was published: Handcarts to Zion: The Story of a Unique Western Migration 1856-1860. Even though this remarkable migration took place over only a four-year period, many books and articles have been written about it, and it has been the stuff of lore and legend. From less than 3,000 emigrants who made this unique trek have come a half million descendants.
I grew up in Los Angeles, and even though we were 700 miles from Utah, every July 24th our local LDS wards celebrated Pioneer Day. Someone built replicas of handcarts and we used to pull them around the church parking lot as if we were pioneers of old. Years later, the memory of that experience piqued my interest in the history of the handcart Saints. I searched for just the right book that would tell me what I wanted to know. Everyone who knew anything about the subject referred me to the Hafen book, and I soon bought one and devoured it within a few days.
I was fascinated by the myriad of historical details the Hafens had mined from contemporary journals, reports, and other documents. I was saddened as I read their account (and first-hand accounts included in the book) of the tragedy in 1856 and moved to tears by the stories of the rescue of the two companies and the incredible courage and compassion shown by the rescuers who left the safety and warmth of their homes in Salt Lake to brave the freezing hell of what is now central Wyoming, 300 miles from any other settlement.
A reviewer of the book in the Utah Historical Quarterly in 1960 wrote that "the Hafens have written an absorbing book and have done a great service." Forty-four years later, Handcarts to Zion is still the best overall history of the handcart experience and is a genuine pleasure to read.
Curt Bench, owner of Benchmark Books, Salt Lake City
 |
A Finnish boy who is said to have worked at the Castle Gate Mine at the turn of the 20th century. He carried explosives, searched for "bad air," and cleaned animal dung and loose coal from entries. |
In 1912, 11 percent of Utah boys age 10 to 15 worked for wages, earning an average of $3.70 a week. Fewer girls worked, but some hired out to do jobs like housework, washing, or factory work.
Many Utah children worked on farms, of course, but in the city they could get jobs as newsboys, messenger boys, office boys, or boot blacks. Other children worked in stores, for printing presses, or for factories that made boxes, candy, or bottled food-earning far less than adults would.
Poverty was the largest single reason children went to work. In many families, parents saw their children as a source of income and sent them to work as soon as they could. A national study found that 30 percent of all children who had jobs went to work out of necessity. Another 28 percent went to work because their family wanted-though didn't absolutely need-the extra money. Some children worked simply because they didn't want to be in school.
In 1903 a 12-year-old boy working at ZCMI's millinery (hat) department fell off a ladder, hit his head, and died. His family was already very poor, because his small salary was all they had since the death of the father. The mother asked ZCMI for $2,000 to make up for the loss of his income. They gave her $1,000.
In 1906 Hazel Youngberg wrote a master's thesis at the University of Utah and interviewed children whose parents had forced them to work. One, a 13-year-old named Edward, worked in a printing office for four months before the truant officer found out about him. Edward, his mother, her husband, and the other children had been living on his weekly salary of four dollars. The mother complained that they would be "utterly destitute" if her son could not work.
One 10-year-old newsboy stole bottles and junk to support his father's alcohol habit. Another, age 13, earned three dollars a week working in a barn. His family did not have a home and was living in a nearby field.
A 12-year-old boy had to get a work permit to sell fruit, candy, and popcorn at theaters because his stepfather refused to support him.
No wonder that people who cared about children worked to end child labor! During the first decades of the 20th century, activists helped get laws passed that kept most children in school and out of the labor force.
Taken largely from "Protect the Children: Child Labor in Utah, 1880-1920," by Martha S. Bradley, in Utah Historical Quarterly 59 (1991).
 |
|
Answer to the Spring Puzzler
|
 |
 |
NATE GOODMAN
Years at USHS: 9
Job: Archival technician
Which means? Cataloguing & photographing items in collection, entering information into a computer. And general all-around helping.
Place of work: Basement of the Rio Grande Depot (rumored to be haunted, but Nate has never seen a ghost).
Most interesting recent project: Cataloguing the lifetime collections of a conductor on the Rio Grande Railroad.
Hobbies: Model railroading and railroad history, astronomy, biking, Japanese animation, skiing.
Favorite recent book: House of Sand and Fog.
Favorite part of Utah history: Mining and industrialization.
Other things he's done: Social work, editing and writing, photography and darkroom, giving cave tours, running an emergency food bank.
You TOO can be a Utah State Historical Society volunteer. See history.utah.gov or call (801)533-3553.
Academy of Ancient Sites and Cultures
The Division of State History has long seen the need to train local craftspeople the skills needed in stabilizing the archaeological sites of the Four Corners region. Working with several agencies and the College of Eastern Utah-San Juan Campus, the division helped create the Academy of Ancient Sites and Cultures.
The academy is now fully organized and offers classes to students, teachers, trades-people and the interested public. Classes train students in interpretation, assessment, documentation, and stabilization of archaeological sites.
The academy is located in Blanding, Utah, and students gain hands-on experience working at sites in the area. Instructors are professionals with both an academic background and real-world experience in the course specialties.
For more information on available courses and the academy itself, see www.academyut.org or call (970) 560-2081.
Get your Quarterlies bound
The publication office of the Utah State Historical Society periodically arranges for volumes of the Utah Historical Quarterly to be bound (in its traditional Morroco Sturdite covering and color) and stamped with gold foil lettering. Binding will be completed by early October 2004 and the Quarterlies mailed back to the owners. The cost for each volume is $13, plus $5 for the first volume and $1 for each additional volume for mailing. Individuals and institutions wanting to participate in having their Quarterlies handsomely bound should send them to Craig Fuller, USHS, 300 Rio Grande, Salt Lake City, UT 84101, by August 15. For more information contact Craig Fuller at (801) 533-3538 or cfuller@utah.gov.
Annual meeting scheduled
The Utah State Historical Society annual meeting will be held September 23 through 25 at Library Square in Salt Lake City. The meeting will include a reception, lecture, and annual awards on the evening of September 23, paper presentations on history, preservation, and archaeology the next day, and tours on Saturday. For more information call Kent Powell at (801) 533-3520.
Rio Grande remodel and new Archives building
Big changes are happening at the Rio Grande Depot, home of the Utah State Historical Society.
In August:
The new State Archives building south of the Depot will be finished.
State Archives will move into the building.
The Utah Arts Council staff currently in the south wing of the Depot will move into offices off the main lobby.
Crews will start remodeling the south wing into a joint Archives-State Historical Society reading room.
Between August and March 2005:
New exhibits, rotating between history and art, will replace the old history exhibits in the grand lobby.
Many Historical Society staffers will move offices.
The Board Room will become temporarily unavailable for meeting use.
The library will move its collections to new locations.
We urge you to call with any questions. In particular, call ahead before you visit to see if construction has affected the person or program you want to visit. Thanks for being patient while we remodel!
National Preservation Conference
The National Trust for Historic Preservation is holding its annual conference September 28-October 3 in Louisville, Kentucky. For more information, see http://www.nthpconference.org/ .
Comings and goings
John D. Barton has joined the Board of State History, replacing F. Ross Peterson, who has left to become president of Deep Springs College in California. Mr. Barton is an assistant professor of history at Utah State University, Uintah Basin Branch Campus.
Brian Endicott has joined the staff of the Utah State Historical Society as the curator of manuscripts and Nelson Knight as preservation specialist.
Call for papers
Fort Douglas Day 2004 will be held on October 23 at the Fort Douglas Military Museum and surrounding area. As this year is the 110th anniversary of the establishment of the Utah National Guard, the theme this year will be "Utah's Citizen Soldiers: Serving Community, State and Nation." Paper proposals should focus on Utah's rich militia tradition from the Nauvoo Legion to the present time. Deadline for paper proposals is August 31. For more information, contact Su Richards at (801) 581-1251.
Is your town a Preserve America Community?
Preserve America is a White House initiative that encourages and supports community efforts to preserve and enjoy our cultural and natural heritage. The program seeks to strengthen regional identity and local pride, increase local preservation efforts, and support economic vitality in communities.
The program includes grants to help local communities develop sustainable resource management strategies and sound business practices for the continued preservation of heritage assets. It also names Preserve America communities and gives annual awards for exemplary accomplishment in the sustainable use and preservation of cultural or natural heritage assets.
For more information see www.preserveamerica.gov .
Santa Clara history now available
The Santa Clara Historical Society has published History of Santa Clara, Utah: A Blossom in the Desert, by Joyce Wittwer Whittaker. The hardbound, 572-page book costs $50 and is available from Whittaker at (435) 628-0971 or Uncle and Auntie's Gift Shop, 2865 Santa Clara Dr., Santa Clara.
Heritage Areas get a boost
The Interior Department is proposing legislation to establish a National Heritage Area program. This means that Congress would not have to approve each National Heritage Area individually; instead, the Interior Department would review proposals and designate National Heritage Areas.
This legislation would significantly affect Utah, which is a leader in heritage area development and which has two proposals before Congress: the National Mormon Pioneer Heritage Area and Great Basin National Heritage Area. Heritage areas are locally driven partnerships that blend education, cultural conservation, resource preservation, recreation, and community revitalization. National designation brings with it federal money to help the partnerships achieve these goals.
Newton Town Library
The library in Newton is making the past visible with several displays: the sheep industry in Newton, nursing in Newton, Indian clothing, and women's hats. Call (435) 563-9283 for more information.
SUP Encampment
The National Society of Sons of Utah Pioneers will hold its 2004 Encampment in Kanab, Utah, on September 9, 10, and 11. With a theme of "Southern Utah Pioneers," the Encampment will include a keynote speech, and tours to Lee's Ferry, historic Georgetown, Mt. Carmel, John D. Lee's burial site, Paria movie town site, Pipe Springs National Monument, and more, by tour guides who have a unique knowledge of the area's historic past. Guests and visitors are invited and welcome to participate in these events. For more information, see sonsofutahpioneers.org or contact Harvey Zilm at (435) 644-2560 or Kent Lott at (801) 253-3675.